MADIKERI: Kodagu district is deprived of a cabinet berth again, causing disappointment among Congress workers and other residents. While Virajpet MLA AS Ponnanna was appointed as the Deputy Speaker to the Legislative Assembly, the wait of more than a decade for a cabinet berth has been crushed again.
“Kodagu district was in dire need of a ministerial berth and the district was confident of getting one,” said Madikeri MLA Dr Mantar Gowda, adding he is saddened that the district has been deprived of a cabinet berth.
Virajpet MLA AS Ponnanna, who was appointed as the CM’s Legal Advisor during Siddaramaiah’s tenure, could not make it to the cabinet despite several requests from various organisations in the district. Several organisations in the district, including the Kodava Samajas, Gowda Samaja, Muslim Federation and others, had requested a cabinet berth for one of the MLAs of Kodagu.
United Kodava Organisation, which had recently met CM Shivakumar with a request for a cabinet berth for Kodagu, said that the state government continues to neglect Kodagu. Manju Chinnappa of the organisation said the district has faced continuous political neglect.